Virtual Reality
by TGardian
Summary: When a neopets addict finds out her favorite site's been cancelled, she goes straight to California to right this wrong. However, more adventures are in store for her than she had imagined...FINALLY updated!
1. California, Here I Come

Hi everyone!! Yes, this is a self-insertion. I promise you it's not a Mary- Sue though, as I tend to be evil and clumsy and many people do not like me (what's WRONG with them?). Flames will be fed to my Scorchio, Storm, as she quite likes them. Oh yes, and the disclaimer: Neopets does not belong to me. I really, really wish it did, but it doesn't. If it did all my pets would be painted Darigan and Baby.  
  
Scorpio (which happens to be short for my Neopets username, scorpiomoonlight) looked at the computer screen blankly. Up on the screen that Neopets usually had were the words:  
  
Neopets will no longer be running. Our sponsors no longer support us, and less people choose to use the site than ever before. Many adults feel that Neopets wastes their time, and parents have been complaining that their children spend too much time here. Please forgive us for this, but I'm afraid we can't afford to keep this site running any longer. Love forever, the Neopets Team.  
  
She blinked. No way! She had spent all that time saving up for Qayrinne's Christmas paint brush. She had adopted a Ghost Aisha and a Mutant Scorchio from the pound. She was three quarters of the way to buying Rougrei's Orange paint brush. Plus, she had given all of her pets adorable petpets. She had finally been doing well, and now.it was all for nothing.  
The worst thing was, she very nearly loved her pets. Not "loved" as in loving a living, breathing animal or person, but she felt a connection with them. It was hard to explain, how computer images could become your best friends. Yet somehow they were.  
Scorpio bounced on her bed and thought. I wonder why they shut down, she thought between bounces. Obviously it wasn't for the reason they claimed. Neopets is the best, most profitable site on the 'net; surely they have enough money to keep it going.  
Suddenly, she had an idea. Well, she thought. I'm not going to help anyone by sitting-eh, jumping-around the house! I'll send them some money; it might get them back on their feet. Smiling, she jumped off the bed, grabbed a few bucks and slipped them in an envelope headed to California.  
  
A Few Days Later.  
  
"Your letter arrived!" yelled Scorpio's mom from downstairs. Squealing, Scorpio jetted down the stairs. Grinning earnestly, she ripped off the cover of the envelope and read their response.  
  
Dear scorpiomoonlight, Thank you for your kind donation to the Neopets Site. However, it is not money difficulties we are experiencing currently. This is just an excuse we had to use so that nobody would feel upset or worried. Please understand that there is no possible way to get the site up and running again, as our hardships cannot be fixed. Thank You Anyway, the Neopets Team.  
  
Scorpio looked up. This wasn't money. This was serious. Someone had gotten into severe trouble and there was no way to fix it. No ay, at least, for them.  
Scorpio looked up. Maybe everyone would think she was a lunatic, but Neopets was hiding something. Somebody might have gotten hurt.  
No more time wasting. She was going to California. 


	2. Im Going Already! Sheesh

Disclaimer: I do not own Neopets. If I did, I would be either Adam or Donna. I dont think I'm Adam or Donna, so I think it's safe to say that I do not own Neopets. Thank you.  
  
  
  
Okay. So here she was, about to go to California. Alone. Now, if you have any common sense, you should be able to tell that this was a very stupid thing to do, especially just for a website. But you should also know that Scorpio is a very stupid person. Stupid is as stupid does, so Scorpio does go to California. I hate to overuse the word stupid but it's really the only way to describe this ordeal.  
  
So anyway, Scorpio prepared to go to California. She had a little purple backpack(decorated all over in little Neopet stickers of course)so she put supplies that she would probably need inside. Kind of like Dora the Explorer's backpack, except it wasn't a goofy smiling retarted backpack. So she put muffins, books, a bottle of soda, her Gameboy(can't go anywhere without Mario you know!) and other junk. Finally, after about an hour of stuffing gigantic things into a foot large backpack, she was what I guess you could call ready. So she bought a ticket to California with money which unexplanably popped out of nowhere and set off on her "journey".  
  
Turns out her "journey" was a plane ride. A really long plane ride. You dont even want to know how long she sat in this plane. It was torturous. Even Mario and fifteen candy bars couldn't keep her occupied for such a long amount of time. So she got up and looked around at the people there.  
  
Now, Scorpio was not an outgoing person. She was not the type to go up to some random person and say "Hey yo howsit goin'?!". In fact, she was quite shy. However, even the shyest little midget in the world would up and start talking to the world's most outgoing giant if there was nothing else to do. So she did. Looking around, she saw a kid that was just about her age. She leaned over. "Hi," she said.  
  
The kid looked up from his labtop. "Yo," he said. Either she hadn't said the right thing, or he was the non-talkative person like her. Best to lean towards the latter. "Watcha doin' there?" she asked, pointing to the screen. Now, you probably know why Scorpio isnt the most social person. Thank the plastic cups that this kid was nice. "Aw, surfin the web. You know," he said. "Sports sites, Neopets, TV guides--"  
  
Scorpio raised an eyebrow. "Neopets?" she asked. "That's cancelled, you know."  
  
The kid raised an eyebrow right back at her. "There's still the fansites. What are you, stupid?"  
  
Scorpio took offense--after all, the authoress of this story may call her that, but not some kid on a plane--but took this oppurtunity to say one of her favorite statements. "Stupid is as stupid does, sir," she said in a sarcastically polite manner.  
  
The kid looked confused for a second, then laughed. "Forrest Gump?" he said. "I love that movie!"  
  
Now, she took relief. If he liked Forrest Gump, he couldn't be all that bad. Definitely better than the boys in her class.   
  
Now, the kid shall tell Scorpio his name so that I dont have to keep calling him 'the kid'. "I'm Bryan Cameron," he said. Normally people wouldn't state their names this quickly, but I wish to stop calling him 'the kid' as I stated before. Scorpio smiled. "My name's ---------," she said. Fill in those spaces with whatever you like, except bad words because this story is for kiddies too! Anyway, the kid then agreed to show her the sites he was surfing, including some awesome Neopets fan sites. He even showed her pictures of his four pets.  
  
"I have a Gelert like that one, named Jakiro," he said, pointing to a picture of a Fire Gelert. "I also have two Lupes, a blue one and a Mutant one. My last pet is a Faerie Scorchio, named scorchio7654rf3. Normally I wouldn't have given him that name, but he--"  
  
"--Was adopted from the pound," finished Scorpio. Practically the same exact thing had happened to her when she adopted her Mutant Scorchio, scorchio123456yh7. The name did take some getting used to.  
  
After that, he showed her some other cool sites, such as challenging riddle sites and a site all about Lord of the Rings. Both had silently agreed that Neopets was over, that it wasn't coming back, and that Scorpio's trip was virtually worthless. However, each didn't know what was yet to come...  
  
{Later...}  
  
Scorpio had gone back to her seat to take a nap, you know. Air turbulance, all that. Anyway, while she was sleeping, a very different event was going on at Neopets Inc.(or whatever they call their company...)  
  
"It's going berserk! We can't hold it back!," screamed Matt the angry programmer. The giant computerized box in front of him was shaking, glowing. Pieces were flying out, and everyone could tell the machine was going through a serious malfunction. Soon, a slimy-looking creature emerged, followed by a trail of what intently resembled snot. Meanwhile, across the building, mechanical boxes were exploding, releasing creatures of all different shapes, sizes, and grossness quantity. A small, chubby, beanbag-like creature emerged from one, smiling much like a hamster. Then out of one nearby emerged a shaggy wolf-like creature, like a dog but more muscular and with larger paws. The large wolf-thing began chasing the beanbag animal around the room, surrounding the accompanying chaos. Neopets had created an invention that was to haunt them for a pretty long time... 


	3. High Unlikelyness

Hi everyone! ^_^ Thanks for all of the awesome reviews! I am happy...:) Well, my self-esteem was boosted so much(and Links was batting my head around like a ball of yarn) that I decided to write the third chapter! *gasps* YAY!!!   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Neopets. At least, I think I don't own Neopets. If I did own Neopets then I obviously wouldn't be the person I think I am. *shudders* Disturbing.   
  
Scorpio awoke reeaally slowly when her ears started hurting. Yawning, she realized they had landed in California. Time to go to the Neopets-company place, she thought. She leaned over to Bryan.   
  
"Where are you going, anyway?" she said. Bryan looked up drowsily. "We're just going on vacation," he said. "You know, Disneyland and junk."  
  
She thought hard. "Well, I'm going to visit the Neopets company, to find out why they really shut down. Everyone knows it cant be money."  
  
Bryan raised an eyebrow. "Flying to California, by yourself, no hotel rented, just to stop a website from closing down? Jeez, you're--"  
  
"-Stupid, I know," sighed Scorpio. Bryan shrugged. "Well, I was going to say 'psycho', but now that you mention it..."  
  
"Whatever," interrupted Scorpio rather rudely. "So do you wanna go too?"  
  
Bryan sighed. "Sure. What've I got to lose? Just a vacation, swiming by the beach, relaxation, 3-D movies--"  
  
"Yea yea whatever," said Scorpio. "It'll be fun! It'll make up for everything you miss, I promise!"  
  
"How do I know I can trust you?" said Bryan. Scorpio pretended to fall asleep.  
  
{Later, in fancy braces...}  
  
  
  
"Why am I doing this?!" whined Bryan.  
  
"Um, because you like Neopets maybe?" replied Scorpio.  
  
Bryan sighed. "I hate you."  
  
But hating Scorpio did him no good as she prepared to knock on the company door. She payed little attention to the fact that the building was burning up in flames, huge screams were coming from within, and the place was in wrecks. She didnt pay much attention to that sort of thing, as she was stu--um, unintellectual.   
  
After knocking seven times very heavily on the door, a woman answered breathlessly. "The...the...the...ooohh," she moaned, fainting. Scorpio and Bryan looked on in shock. Then Bryan had to pull Scorpio inside because he was brave and Scorpio was scared.  
  
Once inside, the two realized that the place was utter chaos. A yellow beanbag creature was being chased around the building by a giant blue wolf. There was a huge, snot-covered, mouse-like thing, prowling around and easily chomping through the walls. A dark shadow slinked across the walls, darting this way and that. To boot, the entire Neopets staff was either hiding somewhere or being chased by an evil-looking thing. Bryan looked around. "What HAPPENED to this place?!" he cried. A weary looking man crawled up and seemed to plead to Bryan and Scorpio in a way that seemed rather pathetic.   
  
"Please," he moaned, "Help us. We created an invention that has ruined the world and cannot be fixed. You two look like the only ones stup--I mean, brave, enough to help us!," he moaned.   
  
Bryan stared wide-eyed. "W-w-what do you want us to do?" stuttered Scorpio.  
  
The man moaned. "This invention we created, it takes data from computers and creates DNA. Every little gigabyte is transformed into a sliver of DNA. With this machine, computer images may be turned into real, living, breathing, feeling creatures! The Neopets Team figured they could actually make pets for people. Actual, real pets. Everyone knew it was wrong but felt they had no right to protest. The machines worked; the first living, breathing Neopet, a Blue Ixi named Trianaé, was created. But then someone had the bright idea to test it out on a villian. Namely, the Shadow Usul." He shook his head. "The Shadow Usul created utter chaos. She released other villains, like Meuka and the Spider Grundo. Before long, with her brilliant mind, she engineered the machines to let loose larger, more powerful villians like Jhudora and Dr. Sloth. She even took care to release pets that just dont mix--namely, Chias and Lupes and Gelerts and Unis. Now there's only one way to fix it, but no one is stupid--er, brave--enough to do it."  
  
"W-w-what is it?" shuddered Scorpio.  
  
He looked up. "You have to go into the machine and transvert your DNA to computerized gigabytes. You will be able to go into the computers and fix this problem!"  
  
"Um, okay...come on Scorpio..."said Bryan. Scorpio, still extremely scared, stepped into the machine. Bryan stepped in to, and pushed the shiny red button. In an instant, their blood, flesh, bones, muscles and all the other human make-ups transformed into a gigabytish style. Soon, they were nothing more than computer images. And man, it was cool.  
  
[Later, in cool...um...thingies...]  
  
Scorpio danced around happily. She was in Neopets! She was with all the Aishas, and Kougras, and Wockies, and Eyries, and Acaras, and Lupes, and Gelerts, and Zafaras, and Scorchios, and Shoyrus, and Draiks, and Ixis, and Skeiths, and Tonus, and Lennies, and--oh, well, you know, the Neopets.  
  
Bryan, however, was not skipping around like a lunatic. He was thinking about exactly what they had to do. Probably ask a Faerie for help, he thought. However, I dont know how a measly little Faerie could help us out in a time like this...better to ask someone with power. Um...well...there was Fyora, but...okay, whatever, Fyora.  
  
"---------!!!!" he yelled to Scorpio, who raised an eyebrow. "Please," she said,"Here, call me Scorpio. Scorpio Moonlight."  
  
He shrugged. "Look, I dont really care about names, but what the heck are we gonna DO!?"  
  
Scorpio thought. "How about we ask some Neopets about where the problem is?"  
  
Bryan turned on his heel. "But WHO!?"  
  
She pointed to two Unis who were grazing nearby. Bryan and Scorpio walked over. "Hello," said Bryan to the Darigan one, "Can you help us with something?"  
  
"Yeah," said Scorpio to the Christmas one next to it. "We could use some help,".  
  
The Unis looked at each other and laughed. "Sure," said the Christmas one. "What do you need?"  
  
"Well, said Bryan, "We could use directions to Faerieland, or Faerieworld, or whatever it's called."  
  
The Darigan Uni nodded. "Directions? Who needs directions? We're not doing anything at the moment. Hop on our backs and we'll give you a lift!"  
  
The Christmas one was a little skeptical of this idea; after all, Unis are supposed to be honorable Neopets and didn't find enjoyment in humans sitting on them like chairs. But after Scorpio and Bryan explained what they were doing, the Unis were more than eager to help. After all, is it every day you get to lead idiots towards certain doom--I mean, help save the world?  
  
So, the kids talked to their new friends(whose names were Christy and Darren) as they enjoyed flying up to Faerieworld/land/whatever. "So, you're going to fix a problem created by the Shadow Usul, huh?" said Christy, the Christmas Uni. Scorpio nodded. "I felt bored, so I felt like I should do it, you know?"  
  
Bryan scowled. "I had to DRAG you in here! You were PETRIFIED!"  
  
Scorpio put her hands on her chest and made a weird face. "Lil' ol ME!? I'm not afraid of anythin'!"  
  
Christy coughed to cover her laughter(wow, have you ever heard a Uni laugh? No, of course you haven't. It's weird, just so you know.) "Oops," she faked, "Wow, this is a strong gust of wind! I might tip over a little!"  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" shrieked Scorpio, clamping on to the Uni's wreath. She laughed. "Just kidding!"  
  
Scorpio glared. "That wasn't funny!"  
  
"Yes it was!" yelled Bryan, who was going into conniptions from laughing too much.  
  
"Oh, shut up," murmured Scorpio. This was going to be a long journey. She wished she had a saddle... 


	4. A Cloud That Defies The Laws of Physics

Disclaimer- I do not own Neopets. Well, I do own some Neopets, but not all Neopets, you know...forget it. I'm in a weird mood today.  
  
Charlie: When are you NOT in a weird moodses?!  
  
Shut upses. Anyway, here's he story!! ^_^  
  
***  
  
Scorpio looked forward to the big glistening cloud ahead. It appeared pure white and misty, although there were some...objects...floating on it. She cringed, as any solid object residing on a gaseous material, such as a cloud, is highly against the laws of physics. However, obeying the laws of physics would make Neopets and this story extremely boring. I mean, what ever could be done if Elephantes didn't have wings?  
ANYHOO, for now we shall ignore the laws of physics and focus on Bryan, Scorpio, Christy and Darren. Soon they arrived at this you-can't- make-me-obey-scientific-laws-muhahahahaha cloud and looked around. It really did look like a city. People(who SHOULDN'T be walking on a cloud...okay I've killed the joke) were to be seen at every corner, and glistening rainbow and purple-violet lights sparked all around. Beautiful faeries danced through the air, throwing majestic confetti that had random effects on everything it touched.  
"Yea!," hooted Bryan. "Vegas, weird clouds and beautiful flying women! I'm so glad I gave up Disneyland for this!" He then proceeded to run off to Faerie City, enjoying the sights. Scorpio shrugged and went after him, beckoning for the Unis to follow. She was still rather upset at the you-know-what cloud, and figured that there had to be a catch somewhere.  
She looked down at her feet. "I hope I don't fall down...oh please, oh please, I don't want to fall down..." she prayed.  
"Um...Scorpio?," said Christy, tapping her timidly on the shoulder.  
Scorpio turned around in annoyance. "What? Can't you see I'm--oh dear Lord," she whispered, catching a reflection in the Uni's horn. She slowly looked up and around, only to see the face of the most powerful and famous Dark Faerie around--Jhudora. She was not a happy camper.  
"Bryan? Bryan!?" she screamed. It was no use, however; Bryan was ever nearing Fyora's castle, with Darren at his heels. "I hope he's having fun..." grumbled Scorpio, as Jhudora dragged her and Christy away.  
  
~~~~Meanwhile~~~~  
  
"HOLY COW!!!" yelled Bryan happily, frolicking around the Hidden Tower. Rare and powerful items glistened around him, while Fyora looked on in a friendly-like way. "I'm glad to be a help," she smiled. "Oh, and while you're at it, why don't you take a Neopet friend to help you on your quest?"  
"What the..." said Bryan in awe, as the Faerie Queen opened a marble door to reveal a beautiful field of flowers. Playing in the field were every type of Neopet you could imagine, from Faerie Aishas to Maraquan Draiks. "Whoa...too bad Scorpio isn't here," he lied. Fyora laughed. "Oh, your psycho little friend? I do believe Jhudora is giving her all the help she needs. Now come on, pick!"  
Bryan pointed towards a pet he knew could support him in every way he needed. "I think I'd like a..."  
  
~~~~Meanwhile again, too build suspense(Muhahaha!)~~~~  
  
Scorpio sighed and sank back down lower into her stormcloud chair. "Gee, Jhudora...I have to thank you for this."  
The Dark Faerie rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, you're very welcome. Now are you absolutely positive that Spyder is secure in Illusen's hair?"  
Scorpio grinned. "Positive. In fact, I took extra precautions...you know that Earth Shampoo she always uses, and how the specks look sort of like Petpet eggs?..."  
Jhudora laughed evilly. "Nice work, for a human," she crowed. "Very nice work. Now, as I promised, you get your pick of a Neopet to stop that stupid Shadow Usul from...what did you say that was? Spreading peace and joy throughout Neopia?"  
Scorpio nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, yes! Peace and joy are such dreaded things," she said calmly. Hey, when it came to getting her pick of a cool Neopet, even she could be an actress.  
Nodding, Jhudora got up from her chair and beckoned for Scorpio to follow. "Very well then. You have your pick of an evil Neopet to help you do evil deeds." Scorpio followed Jhudora into a green-and-purple door. As Jhudora was a faerie, she could walk through it, but Scorpio was a regular human so she ended up banging her head. Ouch. After realizing she wasn't a faerie and that doors were very much solid, she had the sense to open a door. (Gasp!)  
Behind the door was a scene mucho different from Bryan's view. Instead of Faerie, Maraquan and all above goody-goody Neopets, Shadow, Darigan and other evil-like neopets frolicked. Or, should I say, prowled. Scorpio's eyes went all glistening-anime-style as she watched a Halloween Ixi, a Mutant Kougra and a Ghost Lupe prowl by. However, after glancing around frantically, she finally found one that was suited to her every needs.  
"Oh, Jhudora, ruler of all things evil and beautiful, may I please have a--"  
And suddenly, she was interrupted because I enjoy torturing people. 


	5. Get Down Tonight

Disclaimer- I don't own Neopets. Neopets isnt mine, ok? *wails* I WANT A PIG NAMED BARNEY!...Ok, I did not just say that.  
  
Charlie: Oh, in cases you nassssty people were wonderings, she changed Chapter 4 to enlarge the plotsssesss. Do not worriessss, the content of Chapter 4 will return in a slightly different manner heresssss.  
  
***  
  
"Very well," said Jhudora, handing Tiffany her chosen Neopet. "Just don't dissapoint me."  
"Oh, I won't! I certainly won't!" said Tiffany, grabbing the pet and squeezing it. The pet let out a little squeek of discontent. Jhudora slapped it and waved her finger.  
"No! Bad Neopet! We don't squeek!," she hissed. The pet growled menacingly. The Dark Faerie patted it. "Good boy! Whosha good boy? WHOSHA GOOD BOY--"  
"Hey!," interrupted Scorpio. "He's my pet, I think I oughta be training him to be evil!"  
"Yes, yes, perfectly right," sighed Jhudora. "There. Off with you."  
"Thank you," said Scorpio, scuttling outside with her new pet. "Wait 'till Bryan sees...he'll be jealous as a gnat!...Um...wait, is that right?"  
  
*Meanwhile*  
  
Bryan strolled into the paradise and picked up what Fyora said was rightfully his. "All right! Thanks a bunch, Fyora."  
"No problem," smiled Fyora, filing her nails. "Now, I have a highlighting appointment in a few minutes, so I suggest you hightail it...oh, and I'm happy to be a help!"  
"Yeah, thanks," said Bryan. "Now...how do I get out of here? I'm sure I can't get out the way I came..."  
"Sure you can," said Fyora, zapping him out with her wand.  
Suddenly outside, Bryan rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Geez...talk about mood swings!" he groaned. Then he remembered his new pet. Okay, I'll stop torturing you, alright? It was a Maraquan Krawk, floating ever so gracefully an inch above the ground. "Awright!" he cheered, slapping it a high-five. It smiled in a menacing but cute way and coiled up around his neck. "Come on, let's go find Scorpio!" he said happily. "Squeak!" said the Krawk, being still too young to talk. (Hey! I made a rhyme!)  
  
~~~  
  
"Okay, maybe you can't fly, but I'm sure Bryan picked a pet that can!" said Scorpio to her new pet Darigan Draik. It growled, but in a friendly- like way. Then she met up with Bryan, and saw (to her horror) that he hadn't.  
"You didn't pick a pet with wings!?" they yelled at each other. "I thought you would pick a Darigan pet! With wings!" accused Bryan.  
"Well don't blame me because you didn't think right!" yelled Scorpio (talk about hypocricy...) "Why didn't you pick a Uni or something!?"  
"Hey, speaking of Unis," thought Bryan, "Where are Christy and Darren?"  
  
[Meanwhile, in Honolulu...] "Woooohoooo!!!" cheered Christy, catching a huge wave on their surfboard. Of course, they had followed their friend Frufru's lead and left Neopia to go to a slightly...sunnier place. Naturally, some humans wondered why some freakish alicorns with big eyes were surfing in Honolulu, but they were all too afraid to ask.  
  
[Meanwhile, in Faerieland...]  
"This is crazy!" pouted Bryan. "How are we going to get down from Faerieland if our pets can't fly!?"  
At that moment, very conveniently, the two Neopets spotted a Faerie Uni and Faerie Peophin offering rental rides down from Faerieland. They pulled their two unintellectual owners there and made them pay 50 neopoints each to get down (from a cloud that they aren't supposed to be standing on it the first place! HUHR-huhr...HUHR-huhr...I'm okay.) Beats me how they even got Neopoints in the first place without playing any games, but they did.  
However, this Uni and Peophin team was not very reliable, and they dropped off their Passengers in a place that did not look like Neopia Central. Hehehe...I mean, gracious!  
They scraped Scorpio and Bryan off their backs and flew back up to Faerieland, leaving four very confused humans and Neopets in their place.  
"Uuuuhhh...where are we?" whimpered Scorpio, staring at all the freakish trees around her. "I dunno," whispered Bryan. "Well, wherever we are, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," croaked Scorpio. Bryan gave her an odd look. "When were we ever in Kansas?"  
"There you go," snapped Scorpio, slapping him. "Spoiling the moment!" 


	6. Elni

Disclaimer- I do not own Neopets. I'm halfway there to buying it, but for now, no. Poor, poor me.  
  
Hi guys! waves enthusiastically Sorry I haven't updated for so long, but things have been going on. Um...back to the story!  
  
"Ow...," said Bryan, rubbing his cheek. "Anyway, we should find out where we are, before we meet up with the Ghost Lupe or somethin'." Scorpio turned around swiftly. "G-...ghost lupe?..." she squeaked.   
  
"Or worse...," whispered Bryan. "The Jelly Chia."  
  
In the next few minutes, there was such chaos and commotion that I cannot possibly explain what happened. All I can say is that Scorpio is afraid of many, many things, but jelly is among one of her worst fears. Probably due to the Strawberry Jelly incident she had had when she was younger, but that's a different story. Anyway, by the time her Draik was able to coax her out from behind the tree, she was extremely pale and looked very unhealthy.   
  
"Urrh," said the Draik, who was beginning to learn to talk. This probably meant "Wow..." in Draik-ish language. Bryan rolled his eyes. "Come on, Scor, let's--" before he had even finished, something grabbed him. "Hey! What the-- what--AAAUUUGGGHHH! Scorpio! Where the cheese are you!?" he yelled. Scorpio recoiled. "I'm right here! Don't expect me to save you or anything!" she yelled back.   
  
"SCOR--" yelled Bryan again, before the evil thing that had him in it's clutches covered his mouth. On a quick gesture, it leaned down and snatched his Krawk, too, before pulling them both into shadows. The muffled screams were suddenly swept away with the cool breeze as Scorpio and her Nepet looked on. The Draik looked at her accusingly. She met it's gaze and raised an eyebrow. "What?..."  
  
"Urrfh," said the Neopet. Scorpio looked away quickly. "No, I'm not. I'm not doing that. No...nope, not me...I'm not gonna save him...oh...well, when you put it that way...FINE! FINE, OK!" She started to sob. "I will! I will! But I have no idea where he is!" She stared with watery eyes at her pet. "Please say you know some way to find him...please?..."  
  
"Nrrv," it said happily. Even though it had only been asking for a cupcake, it was glad Scorpio's conscience had gotten a hold on her. It pointed it's tail towards a creepy old mansion in the distance. Scorpio's eyes brightened. "Great idea! We can just go there and ask for directions!" she happily started to sprint off towards it, while her intelligent neopet ran by her side. While running, she began to think something. (Gasp!) She needed a name for her pet. She couldn't keep calling it "her pet", after all. "Hey," she said to it. "What do you think would...huff huff...be a good name for you?" she said in between pants (she was not very athletic, you must remember!). The pet looked up at her innocently, with the silver stars in the sky reflecting in it's brilliant red eyes. This gave Scorpio an idea. "Hmm...well...huff huff...it should be a starry name to go with mine, right? So...huff huff...Comet, maybe? Blitzen? Meteor, Mars, Saturn, Pluto...huff huff...a-HA!" her eyes brightened up, just like her pets. "Galileo! Of course! He was a famous...huff huff...guy who studied astronomy!" The newly-named Galileo happily nodded it's head. "Leo for short, of course...hey! We're almost there!"  
  
Indeed, they were almost to this frightening castle, and both were becoming eager. When they neared it though, something was apparantly wrong. "Hellllooooo?" called Scorpio towards the house. No answer. She shook her head. "There's gotta be someone here! I saw a light on at the top, I know I did!" She sorrowfully patted Leo's head. "Geez, all this way for--"  
  
"Psst," came a raspy voice from the shadows. Both girl and Neopet looked up in fright to see a poor-looking Usul standing nearby. "Psst," she said again, and crept closer. She handed a filthy, red, ragged cloak and long, moldy brown shirt to Scorpio. "Drape these over yourself," she whispered. Scorpio examined it. "These clothes smell like grandmas," she whined. The Usul glared. "There is nothing wrong with grandmas. Put them on, NOW." Scorpio hastily obeyed the Neopet's wishes. "Are you sure they don't make me look fat?"  
  
"They look fine," rasped the Usul, giving her an old basket to put Leo in. "Now, do exactly what I say, or you shall surely die. Or never find your friend...anyway, barge into the castle and only step on one tile of the floor. As soon as you do, you will be given an anagram. Answer the anagram and you will be allowed to pass. Be sure to repeat until you get to the last room. There, he--"  
  
"Yea, yea, whatever," sighed Scorpio. "C'mon, Leo, let's go."  
  
She pushed open the doors and lazily stepped on the first tile of the floor. "Hello? Anyone there?"  
  
"ELNI!" boomed a powerful voice from above. 


End file.
